<p>Hello everyone. I know this is early, but I am wondering what people think of my chances at the Top 14, particularly Berkeley. I have looked at all the calculators, I would just like to hear some opinions. </p>
<p>4.0 (ish) in PoliSci, minored in a language
167</p>
<p>I believe I have fairly good soft factors. </p>
<p>-About to start a year of community development work in a rural part of a developing country (similar to peace corps, but different)
-Near proficient in a difficult foreign language
-A couple of articles published in student journals, possibly another one co-authored with a professor
-Tons of leadership, awards, internships, study abroad in a developing country.</p>
<p>as my kid has same lsat score, I’ve been following the “plight” of LSAT 167- 3.7/3.8 applicants on LSN. What I have definitely noticed is that there is a real boost to apply early in the process and it seems that work experience (maybe it’s the maturity factor or additional life experience) helps a bit.<br>
From what I have heard about Berkeley (and you are at or above their median) is that it is a real crapshoot. My guess is that your work experience in a developing country may seem compelling to Berkeley and having a 4.0 will be a real help. But I strongly suggest- you try to get your applications in by November. </p>
<p>my guess is that if you applied to all T8-14’s including Berkeley, you’ll get into one or 2
of them (maybe more but I don’t want to be overly optimistic). But you need a great application package- and apply early.<br>
Good luck!</p>
<p>Agreed BDM: september/october is better. I’ll try to use my powers of persuasion on my own kid. I am actually tracking 4 kids on LSN with similar scores to my d. It shows that the applicant who applied Sept/October has had more T-14 acceptances than the other 3. Only the 2 with work experience have T-14 acceptances ( to Cornell, Georgetown, U Mich and both got accepted to Northwestern). The other 2 who applied in December/January and are still UG’s have not gotten any acceptances to T-14 schools. </p>
<p>It’s a real coincidence- I was planning to share all my “knowledge” with my kid over the week-end. I actually compiled some info to give her, including info on the 4 students I tracked. But after we “have the talk” re: law school admissions- I know I got to butt out. She’ll only humor me for so long.
The ball is now in her court!! I hope she does better with it than her alma mater did this afternoon.</p>
<p>I would retake the LSAT with your 4.0 GPA. The 167 puts you in the 25% or below for many of the T14, which is not where you want to be. If you can get up to 170 (which is what I had with a 4.0), you should be in everywhere except Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Columbia, with money at some of the mid T14.</p>
<p>law applicant- I agree with you. for my own kid-- she’s not interested in taking the LSAT again. That might change if she is unhappy with her outcome next year and decides to do a re-take and start a year later than planned. </p>
<p>Sam- What I have noticed with the 167 score is that a “targeted” ED application with a high gpa, may help gain admittance to certain T-14 schools. I noticed that this sometimes works with UVA, U Mich and Penn. Also a willingness to do a summer start at U Mich is also helpful. Unfortunately, my own kid is not in love with any of these schools and is not planning to apply ED to those three.</p>
<p>One of my D’s best friend was just accepted to Stanford on wednesday (also in at UVA, Mich and NYU), graduated Phi Beta Kappa (Ivy), Honors in her major and a 175 lsat but was flat out rejected from Boalt yesterday. She did apply late in the cycle (January).</p>
<p>While the number of people applying to LS has not increased, people are certainly putting in more applications, I agree with Marny, that you shoudl definitely apply early.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for all the advice! I am planning a June LSAT retake, but I am worried about messing up again and scoring lower. I would ordinarily consider doing an ED app to Michigan, but the summer start conflicts with my job contract. Any other thoughts or advice?</p>
<p>sam- I don’t know if an ED application to Mich. equals a summer start. I think ED is ok for regular start in August too. The summer start was just an additional option as more seats are available as you are agreeing to start in the summer as well as during the regular semester starting in August.
I’m not as familiar with the mich website as I am with other schools- so check it out. </p>
<p>I know that as of now, you can only apply to Duke ED if you are applying for a summer start program of JD/MA or JD/LLM. But I don’t think the ED/summer start rule holds for Mich.</p>
<p>marny, all students accepted ED to Michigan are accepted for the summer start (but not all summer starters applied ED).</p>
<p>It might be possible to defer an ED acceptance for fall start, but it would require very unusual and unexpected circumstances…not something anyone should bank on.</p>
<p>thanks stacy- i knew there was a summer start component on the application but I didn’t realize it was for ED applicants only. </p>
<p>so it seems that both Duke and Mich expect ALL ED applicants to begin their studies in the summer (??).<br>
My kid should be in next cycle of applicants, so I’m just trying to get these details clear.</p>
<p>wait- as I am re-reading your comment: “not all summer starters applied ED”
so now I am interpreting as I first believed- you can apply to start in the summer and not need to be an ED applicant ??</p>
<p>going to the application- my interpretation is ALL ED is for summer start program
You can apply RD for either summer or fall term
and this is INTERESTING- you can actually ask for a deferred admission on the application. This may be geared for kids who are in 2 year commitment program like TFA or similar.
I haven’t looked at too many other applications, so I don’t know if it is common to request a deferral admission at time of application.</p>
<p>if you apply to Michigan ED and are accepted, you will be a summer starter.
if you apply to Michigan RD, you can choose from three options:
application considered for summer start only
application considered for fall start only
application considered for summer and fall start</p>
<p>If you choose the third and are admitted, the admission letter tells you for what semester you’ve been accepted. Some people are granted permission to switch between summer and fall start at that point but it’s uncommon.</p>
<p>stacy- I agree. It was clear on the application and in how you explained it. </p>
<p>My kid is probably not even applying to Mich (definitely not ED) –
I just wanted others, especially kids with 167/168 LSAT’s know that there may be a few ways to “maximize” their LSAT score especially if the aim is a T-14 acceptance.</p>
<p>For those on the cusp of a T-14 acceptance, you may want to consider applying RD to Michigan and have your application considered for summer and fall start. This tactic is not a sure thing, but it has worked successfully for some in the past. ED/summer starter at Mich. is also a way to go- but Mich has definitely has to be your #1 choice.
I would not suggest anyone do an ED application unless they love the school.</p>